Phillip StearnsAn artist working with electronics and electronic media, based in Brooklyn, NY

Circuit Bending a Logitech Webcam

Latest experiments tinkering with a Logitech webcam. The exact model isn’t given and cannot be found in the hardware profiles of my Windows Vista machine, but it’s from the older quick cam SD line, possibly the messenger or connect. After removing the casing to expose the circuit board, I then removed the lens piece to expose the CCD element to get abstract blurry images. To get the sounds of the circuits, I had to bypass the microphone, first by removing it, and then soldering a wire to the left side of capacitor 23 (see image below). Two probes were attached to the other end of this wire, allowing me to short circuit points on the CCD and simultaneously listen to the signals.

The circuit board of the Logitech Quick Cam showing the microphone bypass, which allows input of any electronic signals.